CRITICISM

Berman, Ronald. “King Henry the Eighth: History and Romance.” English Studies: A Journal of English Letters and Philology 48, no. 2 (April 1967): 112-21.

Views Henry VIII as a balanced representation of thematic elements and modes of dramaturgy.

Candido, Joseph. “Fashioning Henry VIII: What Shakespeare Saw in When You See Me, You Know Me.” Cahiers Élisabéthains, no. 23 (April 1983): 47-59.

Comparison of Shakespeare's Henry VIII with Samuel Rowley's When You See Me, You Know Me, proposing Rowley's work had a positive influence on Shakespeare's writing, especially his portrayal of the king.

Foakes, R. A. Introduction to The Arden Edition of the Works of William Shakespeare: King Henry VIII, by William Shakespeare, edited by R. A. Foakes, pp. xv-lxii. London: Methuen and Co. Ltd., 1957.

Provides a critical analysis of Henry VIII, focusing primarily on its stagecraft, themes, and characters.

Kurland, Stuart M. “‘A beggar's book Outworths a noble's blood’: The Politics of Faction in Henry VIII.” Comparative Drama 26, no. 4 (winter 1992-93): 237-53.

Examines issues of political factionalism, birth, and personal conduct as they are explored in Henry VIII, noting that these issues were particularly significant in England at the time the play was written.

Vanita, Ruth. “Mariological Memory in The Winter's Tale and Henry VIII.” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 40, no. 2 (2000): 311-37.

Compares the female characters in The Winter's Tale and Henry VIII and argues that both plays mourn the loss of popular elements in old English history and religion that celebrated the empowering of the powerless, especially women.

Wasson, John. “In Defense of King Henry VIII.” Research Studies: A Quarterly Publication of Washington State University 32, no. 3 (September 1964): 261-76.

Defends Henry VIII as a successful play, noting that it is a history play, and as such, does not need to develop its characters or tragic action in the same manner as a tragedy.

Wickham, Glynne. “The Dramatic Structure of Shakespeare's Henry the Eighth: An Essay in Rehabilitation.” Proceedings of the British Academy 70 (1985): 149-66.

States that Henry VIII is a play that redeems Katherine of Aragon, attempts to preserve national history, and reaffirms the Jamesian notions of peace, prosperity, and continuity.